Thursday, 6 June 2013

As storm clouds of war gather in the Gulf, Saddam Hussein sends an extraordinary message to the world by "hiding behind Western women and children." In New York, the verdict in a brutal gangrape of a white woman by black youths polarizes American society. And in India, there's a new star on the horizon – Sachin Tendulkar, the youngest player in 25 years to score a Test century.

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Sachin Tendulkar may have announced his retirement from Indian Premier League but the veteran cricketer is likely to don the Mumbai Indians jersey during the upcoming edition of Champions League T20 which will be held in India from September 17 to October 6.

"The prospects of Sachin playing for IPL champions Mumbai Indians in the Champions League T20 is bright," a senior IPL official told PTI today.

"Since the tournament will be held in India this time, the MI management has requested Tendulkar to atleast consider playing this tournament. MI has a huge fan base all over India and Tendulkar's presence definitely becomes a big factor," the official added.

Tendulkar announced his retirement from IPL at the end of the final match but what might prompt him to take part in the Champions League is the timing of the tournament.

"Since Sachin has already retired from ODIs, he won't get a lot of match practice before the Ranji Trophy. The format may be T20 but some serious 'match-time' out there in the middle will help him get into the groove as he prepares for the tough South Africa tour," the official added.

However it is not clear whether Mumbai Indians skipper Ricky Ponting will be summoned by the franchise for the CLT20 tournament considering he didn't set the stage on fire while playing in the six matches of the IPL.

Another former India captain Rahul Dravid has already made it clear that Champions League T20 will be the last tournament of his competitive career.

According to sources in the BCCI, there is a plan to take the tournament to smaller centres which can evoke better response than the top cities where the tournament hasn't really got the level of acceptance that one would have expected.

"Dharamshala, Ranchi are some of the centres which are being looked at possible choices for hosting CLT20 matches," sources said.

Sunday, 2 June 2013

Former captain Anil Kumble on Sunday said India will miss the services of Sachin Tendulkar when they enter the field for the first time without the batting great in a world-level tournament but insisted the team has enough young talent to do the job in the Champions Trophy.

"It is never easy but the Indian team has a good set-up. It will be the first time it will be in a world championship without the great man but I strongly believe the India team has a good record and a good team to go out there and do really well," Kumble was quoted as saying in an ICC release.

Describing Sachin Tendulkar's impact on the world cricket, Kumble said it won't be easy to replace someone like Tendulkar in the ODI format.

"It is never easy to replace someone like Sachin Tendulkar. Not just because of his on-field credentials but what he brings outside of it in terms of the respect that India gets.

"The atmosphere changes when he walks onto the field whether it is in India, Pakistan, Australia or England. Wherever he has toured, people have come to watch him play. This is something the people of the UK will probably miss during the ICC Champions Trophy," he added.

Kumble, one of the legends of the game, who played 132 Tests and 271 ODIs, said the Champions Trophy in England will be a challenging and closely fought tournament in which the momentum of the sides will be crucial.

"Momentum will be the key to success in this short and sharp tournament, and the teams will need to get the momentum right from the very start and carry it on throughout the tournament. You cannot afford a hiccup. It's a great format where every match counts and every match is like a final. That's the criticality of every game in the ICC Champions Trophy," said Kumble, who took 337 ODI wickets in his illustrious career.

"The event is in the early part of the English summer, so the other big challenge would be to adapt to the conditions, which could potentially change even during the course of a match. That's the beauty about playing in the United Kingdom," he added.

He said the fitness of match-winners will also play an important role during the June 6-23 tournament.

"As the ICC Champions Trophy will be at the back of the India Premier League as well as a few international series, the fitness of key players will be extremely important. I think advantage will be with the side that will have the most match-winners fit and available for selection," said Kumble, one of the most respected and influential voices in cricket.

The ICC Champions Trophy will be staged at Cardiff Wales Stadium, Edgbaston and The Oval.

Australia, which has been placed in Group A along with England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of titles having won the event in 2006 and 2009. Group B includes traditional rivals India and Pakistan, as well as South Africa and West Indies.

Kumble was a member of the India side that was declared joint-winner with Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions Trophy 2002, and also played in the 1998 and 2000 editions when the event was called ICC Knock-Out.

He said teams will have to be on top of its game from the first ball.

"It is a great event because the format is so tight and tough. You will have to be on top of your game from ball number one. There are other teams that are playing really well in the ODI format. So, everyone will be keen to win the tournament.

"The Champions Trophy is a great preamble to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. In 18 days of cricket, you will see in action all the best cricketers from the top eight countries in what will be a great spectacle," said Kumble.

India will take on South Africa in the tournament opener in Cardiff on June 6.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is still not sure the Decision Review System (DRS) is close to 100 percent fool-proof for him to accept it.

When technology is seen as a panacea for all on-field questionable decisions by umpires, Tendulkar says he is all for technology provided it is foolproof.

"I endorse any technology that is close to being 100 percent. I have an issue with half-baked technologies. If it's close to foolproof I don't have a problem with it," Tendulkar told IANS in an interview.

"Technology is fast becoming an important factor in every sport but we have to be careful to see it is not overdone," he added.

India is the only country not to accept this technology in cricket. While every country uses DRS in bilateral Test series, India refuses to employ it for the matches it plays.

Football, too, after a lot of deliberation, has agreed to use goal-line technology to ascertain if the ball has crossed the line. Tennis is another sport which for sometime has been using hawk-eye technology for line calls.

Speaking about the NDTV Marks for Sports campaign, Tendulkar said: "Schools need to integrate sports as a proper curriculum. Marks for sports is a great initiative and a great idea. But it has to be properly implemented. And if that happens then youngsters will have the opportunity to seriously take sports as a career.

"Parents also need to get involved and make decision making easier for their children," he added.

The Mark for Sports initiative, started in March 2011, will push for the inclusion of sports in the school curriculum.

Sachin, who made his Test debut as a 16-year-old, said more emphasis needs to be placed on school- and college-level tournaments. He also pointed out that grassroots infrastructure needed to improve a lot for the country to nurture young talent.

"I have always taken a keen interest in other sports and if opportunities to promote other games come my way I will always take up the offer," he said.

"There is so much sporting talent in our country. We need to identify that talent and nurture it... give it a direction so that it can excel. We need to improve our grassroots infrastructure and catch the talented kids at an early stage.

"It has to be a structured programme and will take years of proper nurturing. There has to be a proper diet and physical fitness sessions in gyms. We should look at other countries where collegiate games are so big. We need to do solid groundwork," Tendulkar added.

Tendulkar, who is an avid sports fan and has often been seen at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments, besides waving the chequered flag at the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix, said the corporates needed to play a bigger role in promoting sports.

"Corporates need to play a bigger role for sports to grow in the country. Ample money should be pumped in and proper infrastructure needs to be set up. Tournaments such as the Coca-Cola Cup are a great platform for youngsters to showcase their skills," he said.

Thursday, 30 May 2013

Breaking his silence on the raging IPL spot-fixing scandal, Sachin Tendulkar today said that the developments of the last two weeks were "shocking and disappointing" and the faith reposed by the millions of fans in the game should be justified.

Tendulkar said the authorities must take sincere steps to get to the root of the issue and ensure that credibility of the game is restored.

The champion batsman, who retired from IPL after his side Mumbai Indians won the title recently, said as a cricketer he has always learnt to play in the true spirit of the game.

"It has always hurt me when the game of cricket is in the news for the wrong reasons. The developments in the last two weeks have been shocking and disappointing. As cricketers we are always taught to go out, fight hard, give our very best and play in the true spirit of the game," Tendulkar said in a statement.

The milestone man of Indian cricket said it was important that the authorities get to the root of the problem.

"During this difficult phase, I join every cricketer, from the boys in the maidans across the country to those who represent clubs, states and the country, who trust the authorities to take sincere steps to get to the root of the issue.

"The faith reposed by the millions of fans should be justified and we owe it to them to ensure that Indian cricket is all about pride and joy," the statement added.

Wednesday, 29 May 2013

Senior cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who played a crucial role in Mumbai's conquest of their 40th Ranji Trophy title this season, on Wedensday received award for striking the fastest century in the national championship at the annual awards function of Mumbai Cricket Association here.Tendulkar, who slammed the century against Railways at the Wankhede Stadium, received the award at the hands of fellow Mumbai stalwart and former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, with several former Test and first-class cricketers present.The Mumbai Ranji Trophy team was also felicitated for achieving their stupendous feat. They beat Saurashtra by an innings.

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Two of India's greatest sporting icons Sachin Tendulkar and Abhinav Bindra want the media to focus on the positive aspects of the games instead of dishing out incorrect things to the viewers and readers."From a sportsman's point of view, as much positive information as possible needs to be given by the media to help them prepare better," Tendulkar said here on Tuesday.He was speaking after releasing, along with Bindra, 'Sporting Times', a compilation of 175 years of sports writing."But sometimes there are things which actually have not happened. Sometimes there are speculations that there were fights in the team and seniors were not allowing juniors to settle. These are all rumours and that is why you sometimes feel (bad). If any incorrect information goes out in the public, there must be a line," the batting maestro said.Bindra, who created history in 2008 at Beijing by shooting down India's first and thus far only individual Olympic gold medal, endorsed his views."When I started playing the game I wanted to be like Mr (Sunil) Gavaskar and Vivian Richards, and set examples for others."Today morning, I went to the All India Under-16 football tournament final between Meghalaya and Odisha. (Indian football captain) Sunil Chhetri was there and it was wonderful to interact with him," said Tendulkar